7

NOV
2006

Doing It All!

I'm not really in the habit of putting non-code content on this blog, but more than one person asked me the same question at RubyConf. If people really want to know, I'll try to answer. Paraphrasing, the question was:

How do you keep up with so many Ruby projects?

First, this question surprised me. Do I really do that much? If you just said yes to that, I would like to introduce you to Ryan Davis. He easily doubles my output and his projects are wicked complex compared to mine.

That doesn't answer the question though.

In short, I do as much as I possibly can with the time I have. The truth is that I would like to do a lot more. I turn down at least as many damn cool Ruby projects as I accept because I'm a wimp and not willing to give up my sleep. There are so many crazy cool Ruby projects out there that I would love to be a part of. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

I guess I still didn't answer the question.

The question was "How…" and the answer to that is actually trivial. Masayoshi Takahashi summed it up with a single slide in his presentation at RubyConf:

Passion Matters

Definitely.

If we were talking about working in a coal mine for sixteen hours a day, I would probably be a lot less capable. It just so happens that I love what I do. If anything gives me extra energy to devote to Ruby projects it's that. Love what you do. I can't stress that enough.

Beyond that, don't hesitate to get involved! I can't tell you how often I see people say things like, "I'm not really qualified to do that," or similar excuses. Oh hell, neither am I, but I wouldn't let a little thing like that stop me! You learn as you go, you drag in the help you need, or whatever. Passion will conquer so care enough to have some. Be the driving force and the rest will take care of itself.

That's all the advice I have to give, I fear. My secret formula probably seems bland, but if I accomplish the work of ten men (someone said that to me a while back), the reason is that I'm passionate and fearless.

Oh, and I have the most understanding wife on this planet. Get one of those too.

About

James Edward Gray II was a part the Ruby community before Rails
ever shipped. He wrote code and documentation that now come with
the language. He ran two Red Dirt Ruby Conferences and is was
a regular on the Ruby Rogues podcast for years. He now creates
videos showing real programming in action.
He does all of this just because he loves to program. This site is
where he writes about that.

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Maybe if the number of people solving the #AdventOfCode keeps dropping, I have hopes of making the leaderboard around Christmas. #day9